


Finality

by BatShitCrazy



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Justice League - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Final moments, Gen, Things left unsaid, Unrequited Love, Unresolved declarations of love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 07:31:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17956247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatShitCrazy/pseuds/BatShitCrazy
Summary: *~*~*~*~*It was the smell that hit him first. Before the pain even registered, a cloying sickening smell. It made him want to gag, the bile crawling up his throat. The heat behind the sickly sweet scent was surprising. It wasn't as if he hadn't smelt blood before, even his own blood, but the sweetness was new. It mixed with the hot Tarmac pressed against his face.*~*~*~*~*





	Finality

**Author's Note:**

> *~*~*~*~*
> 
> Alt title: Last Light  
> Alt alt title: Blue
> 
> Warning for major character death.  
> Left purposefully ambiguous
> 
> Thanks to Bolo for the quick read, and to the Server for encouragement.
> 
> *~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*

It was the smell that hit him first. Before the pain even registered, a cloying sickening smell. It made him want to gag, the bile crawling up his throat. The heat behind the sickly sweet scent was surprising. It wasn't as if he hadn't smelt blood before, even his own blood, but the sweetness was new. It mixed with the hot Tarmac pressed against his face.

Then the sound rushed in. The thudding of his too fast pulse, the distant sounds of traffic, the noise of people surrounding him.

He made a fist with one hand, thinking he could make himself get up, to peel himself away from the hard surface but it was useless. His body wasn't responding anymore. He laid there panting, his mind racing.

Thankfully, he didn't remember the fall. Or the impact. But he could feel it now. He started cataloguing his injuries, but gave up when he realised it was worse than he first thought. The wet pool growing beneath him was blood, his blood. His eyes felt heavy and his limbs began to shake.

That was when he realised.

He wasn't getting up from this.

He cracked an eyelid open and focused on a single coil of smoke rising in the distance. He couldn't smell it over the more immediate odours around him.

Hands touched him. He tried to flinch away. But he was only rolled onto his side, in the classic recovery position.

He wanted to laugh out loud.

Recovery. Just as he knew that the sun would rise, he knew there was no recovery for him. He was beyond broken.

Someone was shouting, he couldn't see who it was, he could only tell it was female. Not a member of the League, probably a civilian.

There was a crackle in his ear. The comm, he thought distantly. Something else that was broken.

He did try to laugh then, but all that came out was a wet exhale. He spat the moisture from his mouth, well, tried to. It dribbled from the corner of his mouth. He wished the shouting would stop. It reverberated around inside his head. But he didn't wish for silence either.

So many thoughts crowded his mind. They overlapped and became jumbled. He could hear his pulse slowing.

"Oh No ......." he heard clearly.

He knew that voice. He tried to turn his head towards it, tried to reach out.

His hand was grabbed suddenly, almost too tightly. Blue eyes swam in his vision.

He tried to speak, only to be shushed.

He needed to speak the words.

The eyes boring into him welled up.

"I know," the voice said.

Relief. He knew. It didn't surprise him. Of course he knew. How could he not? After all this time working together. His hand was squeezed tighter and he tried to smile.

Staring into those pools of blue, he saw heartbreak in them. He frowned. Those eyes should never look that sad.

Blackness started eating away at the edges of his vision. He tried to grip the hand that held his.

Why had he never spoken what was in his heart?

Why did he not tell him how he really felt?

Now he would never get the chance.

He was sorry.

He tried to convey it with his gaze and got a nod in reply. Had they ever truly needed words? All the years, fighting side by side, back to back, against insurmountable odds. And yet they had always won in the past.

The lethargy was overwhelming. He knew his eyes would close soon, but he struggled against it, fighting until the last minute to keep the now tear filled face in view.

'Don't cry' he wanted to say.

Tendrils of grey streaked across his vision, distorting the colours of the world. But nothing could remove that blue. He desperately clung on to the last remaining piece of colour in his world. It was selfish of him, but he needed it.

He fought the creeping unconsciousness that was trying to overwhelm him. He wasn't called stubborn for nothing.

Surprisingly, he felt warm arms enclose him. He didn't even realise he was cold. He could feel his blinks getting longer and longer. The struggle to open his eyes was more difficult each time. He still felt like he should say something, but the words seemed to elude him. What could he say at this moment. There was nothing earth shattering he wanted to impart, no wisdom, no epitaph to memorialise.

His words were for the one holding him, but it seemed they weren't necessary. As if mind reading were one of the many abilities the other seemed to have, although they both knew it wasn't the case.

He was vaguely aware of the arrival of the other members of the League. Each offering to try and help in some way, but he was still able to shake his head in the negative. He was thankful they seemed to respect his wishes.

But still his entire world was encompassed by blue eyes.

Looking at him like he was a treasure to be admired. He wanted to scoff at that but his vision had narrowed down to such a small area now.

He could see the tears falling unhindered down the chiselled face. He wanted to scold the man for his display of emotion but didn't have it in him.

Everything else was wiped from his vision now. His pulse an erratic thud in his mind that seemed to drown everything else away.

Not much longer now, and he would find the closest thing to peace he had ever known.

He spared a fraction of a thought for those he would leave behind, but also knew they would make it alright.

No, his concern was for the one that filled his vision right now. Would he survive it? Without blaming himself. He highly doubted it.

 

With the last of his energy draining him, he tried to smile at the one he wanted so badly to stay with, then everything went black……...

  
*~*~*~*~*


End file.
